Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-04-21-Speech-1-169"
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"en.20080421.18.1-169"2
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"Mr President, the use of human organs for transplantation has increased steadily over the past decades. Organ transplantation is now the most cost-effective treatment for end-stage renal failure. For end-stage failure of organs such as the liver, lung and heart, it is the only available treatment.
Transplants are one of the most miraculous achievements of modern medicine, but less than 25% of the UK population are registered organ donors. Last year, around 2 400 people in the UK benefited from an organ transplant, but more than a thousand die every year whilst waiting for such a transplant.
Organ shortage is a common dilemma in all European countries, and there is clearly a need to improve the system supporting organ donation across the EU. Therefore, I warmly welcome this report, and I especially welcome the expanded section on organ trafficking.
A lack of donors has resulted in an exponential growth in transplant tourism to the world’s developing nations. The international black market in organs is attracting people in search of a kidney or other organ, and people living in abject poverty or other vulnerable circumstances are being exploited. They have become a spare parts inventory for the sick. However, when illegal organs transplants are practised, safety is often ignored and the lives of both donor and recipient are put at risk. British newspapers have already exposed several macabre websites aimed at so-called ‘transplant tourists’, including the offer of kidneys from executed prisoners in China.
We should not view this as a distant crime. Several European nations have also become embroiled in the transplant trade, including Moldova, Serbia, Turkey and Russia. Governments across Europe must do more to prevent this shameful crime, so I would like to congratulate Mr Amadou on what is a wide-ranging and thoughtful report."@en1
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